Graduate overcomes adversity to reach academic success

Neisa Suarez graduating this spring with psychology degree

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 5^th, 2025

Neisa Suarez wasn’t quite prepared for the rigors of college when she first came to California State University, Bakersfield as a freshman.

Having grown up in a strict immigrant household, she was excited about the newfound freedom of being a college student but quickly started hitting academic roadblocks. Suarez —a self-proclaimed procrastinator — found herself struggling with some of her classes during that first semester.

“It was very hard for me to transition from being a high school student to going to college. The expectations were so much higher,” she said. “I had to quickly learn how to be responsible, how to adapt and be more effective if I wanted to succeed in school.”

Despite the learning curve, and having to overcome challenges stemming from her childhood, Suarez was able to build the skills she needed to become a successful student. She will graduate this month with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and hopes to become an advocate for children's mental health.

“It’s pretty surreal. It went by so much faster than I expected,” she said of her time at CSUB. “I’m ready for the next chapter.”

Suarez is the first in her family to graduate from college, although her two older sisters came close, having attended Bakersfield College for a period of time. She said they have been some of her biggest cheerleaders while she has been attending CSUB.

“My sisters always made sure to motivate me and remind me what I’m there for, and that’s to make something of myself. That’s what kept me going during my time at CSUB,” Suarez said.

Her parents, who immigrated to Bakersfield from Mexico with their families when they were young and met while working in the fields, also often emphasized the importance of education while she was growing up.

“My parents wanted a better future for me than what they had,” she said.

While Suarez is proud to have earned her bachelor’s, she doesn’t plan to stop there. She wants to get master and doctoral degrees, but first she is looking to secure a job as a therapist.

Suarez is particularly interested in helping children. She hopes to become a certified Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist, who work with children who have autism and other developmental conditions.

“I want to be able to create a treatment plan for them and help them live productive lives,” she said. “Sometimes people with autism are believed to not be as capable as other people, but they just need a little extra help. They’re just as capable as the rest of us.”

Suarez has already had the chance to work with some people with autism through her position as a student assistant for the Educational Opportunity Program, which provides support to low-income and first-generation students.

She first started working for the program in 2022 as a recruiter. Suarez would visit local high schools to encourage students to enroll in the program, but her role changed to one in which she met with students individually to give them guidance and mentorship.

“I’ve gotten to meet many students who have autism. I was able get a lot more knowledge on creating a safe, effective environment for them and being able to help them regulate what they’re feeling,” Suarez said. “It did solidify me wanting to work with children on the spectrum. I see how my students are able to have a relatively normal life because they had people who were working with them from a young age.”

EOP Outreach and Transitional Programs Coordinator Jesus Perez said Suarez has been an important contributor to the team during her time at CSUB.

“Neisa is one of the most hardworking and dedicated students we have had in the decade-plus I have been a part of EOP,” he said. “From day one, she has set out to not only learn, but to give back to the program that has become her home away from home. Her experiences as a student, along with her creativity, has been instrumental to helping EOP improve our Summer Bridge program.”

Dr. Jason Watkins, director of the Center for Accessibility and Essential Needs, has known Suarez since she took his Explorations in Psychology class when she first came to CSUB. Despite struggling in his class, he was impressed by Suarez’s dedication to her education over the past three years and is excited to see her walk the graduation stage.

“It was during a time when she was going through some real challenges, the kind that often derail students and prevent them from accomplishing their goals, but Neisa remained committed to her education and always brings a positive attitude to any space she is a part of,” Dr. Watkins said. “She has since volunteered at events and is dedicated to helping other students succeed. I am incredibly proud of Neisa and excited for what comes next.”

Graduate overcomes adversity to reach academic success

A difficult childhood

Suarez’s interest in psychology stemmed from significant challenges she faced in her personal life. As a result of having experienced sexual abuse from two family members as a child over a period of several years, she began struggling with depression that lasted into her teenage years.

“I knew the things that were happening to me weren’t right, but I didn’t know how to deal with it at first,” she said. “I would want to be in my room all the time. I wasn’t ready to tell my parents because I didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Suarez said these experiences negatively affected the relationships she had with men, even those she had known all her life.

“I grew up with a fear of men at a young age,” she said. “I had it in my head that all men were going to hurt me. That really steered me into a big, dark hole where I wouldn’t want to be left alone with any men, even my dad or uncle.”

Suarez had a hard time trying to explain her feelings to her parents, as she said they didn’t take mental health disorders very seriously at the time.

Her relationship with them became strained as Suarez got older. Suarez didn’t get to spend as much time with them as she wanted because they were busy with work, so her middle sister was often the one to take care of her, such as by dropping her off and picking her up from school.

“As I grew older, I realized that everything that they did was for the betterment of me and my sisters. They were just working toward giving us a better future,” Suarez said. “It was very difficult in the beginning trying to understand that, being a young kid who missed their parents. I would see other families doing things, going on trips and I wouldn’t be able to have that because my parents were making sure we had financial stability.”

Suarez started seeing a counselor when she was around 13 years old, which helped her start to process her feelings. She eventually got to the point where she was finally able to talk to her parents about her traumatic experience.

“I realized it wasn’t my fault and that I was being taken advantage of, then I finally opened up to my parents and that’s when they finally started getting a better understanding of why I was feeling the way I was. It took them a while to come around,” she said.

Suarez started learning more about psychology during high school. She took her first class in the subject as a sophomore, which she said helped her develop some coping mechanisms.

“I did my own research to educate myself on why I was feeling this way, and that’s when I started to learn a lot about psychology,” she said. “It just became a passion of mine to want to learn more about human behavior and why we feel the way that we feel, specifically as children.”

Then the COVID-19 lockdown happened, which took a toll on Suarez’s already delicate emotional state. When she came to CSUB, Suarez was determined to take advantage of the Counseling Center and continue working to improve her mental health.

“It was around that time when I really started growing and being able to cope with my emotions a lot better. I felt like it had a very big impact on my life,” she said.

One of the biggest factors was that she was paired with a male therapist, which initially caused some trepidation on her part, as she still often struggled with feeling safe around men at that time.

However, Suarez was able to develop a good relationship with her therapist that ultimately led her to building a stronger relationship with her partner, who she had begun dating in her senior year of high school. Suarez recently gave birth to the couple’s first child.

“Seeing a male therapist changed my perspective on men entirely. I was able to handle interacting with men differently after that,” she said. “He helped me develop coping mechanisms I still use to this day. It honestly turned my life around being able to go and use the Counseling Center.”

While Suarez considered pursuing a career as a counselor before ultimately deciding to focus on child psychiatry, she ultimately decided it wouldn’t be the best path for her.

“As much as I’ve been in counseling myself, I don’t think I could handle counseling someone else. I don’t think I’m prepared for people to share stories similar to what I’ve been through,” she said.

Suarez is grateful for her experience at CSUB. She said it’s helped her grow both academically and personally and has set her up for a bright future.

“Being able to work and be a student there really helped me become a more responsible person and showed me how to manage my time,” she said. “A lot of the friends I met there and the amazing teachers I had made it a positive experience for me. I feel like it was the best I could have had.”